Are You Ready For Jesus To Return?
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
As it relates to gathering together (v. 25):
C.H. Spurgeon
There are some who make a bad use of what ought to be a great blessing—namely, the printing press, and the printed sermon—by staying at home to read a sermon because, they say, it is better than going out to hear one. It is a bad example for a professing Christian to absent himself from the assembly of the friends of Christ. There was a dear sister who used to attend here with great regularity, although she could not hear a word that was said; but she said it did her good to join in the hymns, and to know that she was worshiping God with the rest of His people.
The Preacher appropriately remarks:
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
It is interesting that Spurgeon points out the bad use of a great technological advancement: the printing press.
The good is in the fact that you can print sermons and Christian literature for people, at a low cost.
The bad is when people opted to stay home and read a sermon, instead of traveling to church to hear one.
…there is nothing new under the sun.
In our society today, it is easier and more attractive to enjoy a sermon from the comfortable La-Z-Boy in the living room than to bother going to the local assembly.
You don’t even have to get dressed.
You can enjoy your mixing bowl of Lucky Charms while reclining in your seat.
BUT, in making such a decision, you are taking away what God has given you for encouragement and care: the Body of Christ.
The author of Hebrews builds off verse 25 to explain why it is so important for us to meet together and encourage one another.
EVERYONE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE (v. 26-27)
EVERYONE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE (v. 26-27)
Read Hebrews 10:26-27
This describes eternal judgment on those who are not believers.
No sinners should expect deliverance when they are guilty of trifling with the living God.
The author of Hebrews did not say that any of the readers were guilty of rejecting Christ.
However, he warned that if such a thing occurred, those folks could anticipate judgment and divine wrath.
Anyone who rejects the sacrifice of Christ will find no other answer to the problem of sin.
The way the Amplified words these verses brings out the strong warning:
For if we go on deliberately and willingly sinning after once acquiring the knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice left to atone for [our] sins [no further offering to which to look forward].
[There is nothing left for us then] but a kind of awful and fearful prospect and expectation of divine judgment and the fury of burning wrath and indignation which will consume those who put themselves in opposition [to God].
God holds people accountable for what they choose to do with what He has given to them.
What more can a loving God do than pay the penalty for our sins?
And for that payment to be credited to our account, we merely need to believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead.
But what happens when we push that to the side?
Old Testament punishment [a foreshadowing of a greater judgment]
Read Hebrews 10:28
Anyone who was convicted, on adequate testimony, of a deliberate breach of Israel’s covenant law was liable to the death penalty.
Read Deuteronomy 13:6-11
Notice verse 8, your eye shall not pity him.
There was to be no pity or leniency to the violator of the Law.
This was the punishment determined by God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Judge.
And the Old Testament assignment and execution of this consequence is merely a foreshadowing of the perfect justice carried out by Yahweh.
Reality of New Testament punishment (v. 29-31)
Read Hebrews 10:29-31
These verses lend some understanding to another topic in scripture that has confounded Christians for years:
Mark 3:29
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin
What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
The Father gives the Holy Spirit through Jesus to comfort and help believers (John 16).
Those who reject Jesus also reject the Spirit.
Thus, those who apostatize essentially make themselves an enemy of the Holy Spirit.
Those who disregarded the law of Moses received an earthly punishment;
Those who disregard the revelation of Jesus Christ receive a worse punishment.
In John 14, Jesus makes clear that if a person rejects the Son, he rejects the Father.
This is a crucial point.
Those who reject the divinity of Christ and his sonship reject the Father and no longer have a sacrifice for sins.
God is long-suffering, and patient, and loving, and infinitely gracious.
He is not willing that anyone should perish (2 Pet. 3:9).
But for the one who turns his back on God’s grace, there is nothing left that God can offer or do for him.
Only judgment remains.
BELIEVERS HAVE AN ABIDING POSSESSION (v. 32-34)
BELIEVERS HAVE AN ABIDING POSSESSION (v. 32-34)
Read Hebrews 10:32-34
These verses urged the readers to remember the days after their conversion when they stood their ground while they faced threats to their faith.
Threats are not an uncommon occurrence in the life of the believer.
In fact, Jesus warned His disciples to expect them.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The reason that believers are blessed in enduring persecution is because their reward is great in heaven.
It is not about what we have here, but what we have earned there.
I Am N
Years ago, in northern Iraq, radical Muslims (ISIS) spray-painted the Arabic letter ن , or “N,” on the homes and businesses of Christians. The property owners were publicly identified as Christ-followers and given a choice to convert to Islam, leave or die. The courageous believers refused to deny their faith, and more than 100,000 fled with little more than the clothes on their backs.
It would be easy enough for people to abandon the faith and live quiet, peaceful lives among the Muslims in Iraq.
But their hope and focus is on something greater.
Jim Elliot
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose
When our focus is on Christ and what He has done to secure our salvation,
We recognize the suffering He endured because of the great love with which He loved us.
He is the ultimate example to model our lives after (cf. Hebrews 12).
Thus, believers can endure hardship and trials with joy, knowing that our efforts to love our neighbor and show them Jesus are worth the pain of rejection and ridicule.
Or, as in the case of Jim Elliot and many other Christians in history, worth being cut off from our earthly abode.
We have a possession that is greater than anything this world can give us.
1 Peter 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Since we have an abiding possession…
WE MUST STAY THE COURSE (v. 35-39)
WE MUST STAY THE COURSE (v. 35-39)
Read Hebrews 10:35-39
We must have the kind of confidence in the promises of Christ that it does not matter if today or tomorrow our earthly timeline comes to an end.
We must, as Spurgeon puts it, be like the brave Spartan who would never lose his shield, but would come home either with it or on it.
We must daily live out the conviction of Romans 1:16:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
This world takes a firm stand against the truth of scripture.
The philosophies are many and the people put themselves as judges over the truthfulness of the Bible.
Those whose hope is Jesus face the tip of the arrow in these fronts against the one true God.
But may He give us grace and the strength to stand firm.
May He embolden us to say, like the Apostles in Acts 4, we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.
The day is coming when our Savior will return and we will always be in His presence.
And when He does, will He find us abiding in faith, or shrinking back in the face of adversity?
Jesus posed that very question to His disciples.
Luke 18:8
When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?
Those who cower in the face of adversity bring no pleasure to God.
Yet, it ought to be our goal to please Him in whatever we do.
So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
CONCLUSION
Al Mohler
A true Christian not only lives a life of obedience to God but also endures and is faithful in the midst of persecution. The one who places his faith in Christ will ultimately have reason for confidence in the promise of hope at his return.
EVERYONE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for what we have done with what God has given to us.
BELIEVERS HAVE AN ABIDING POSSESSION in Christ, a heavenly reward that will not pass with the things of the world.
Thus, WE MUST STAY THE COURSE in the face of adversity.